


you don't have to be in a bad mood all of a sudden

by jisungracha, parabolae



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Alternate Universe - College/University, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, Light Angst, M/M, Mild Language, Multi, OT3, Polyamory, also u cant really tell but this is probably set in korea. probably, chan's mom makes a brief appearance, minwoo r in emo hours and chan is a dumbass
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-15
Updated: 2018-09-15
Packaged: 2019-07-12 15:58:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 11,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15998552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jisungracha/pseuds/jisungracha, https://archiveofourown.org/users/parabolae/pseuds/parabolae
Summary: “Yeah but... I’m not gay, dude.”“You literally just told your mom you were gay.”Shit, Minho’s got him there.





	1. CHAN

Chan’s been subtly hinting that his mother should hurry up and leave for the last twenty-five minutes, so he’s relieved when she picks up her handbag and pushes herself up off the bed. Initially he’d been glad that she offered to help out, but he’s since enlisted an acquaintance, Minho, to help with the unpacking, meaning his mother’s been doing nothing much at all since she’s arrived. She’d promised that she would only be dropping in for an hour at the most to help him settle in, but it’s been four hours and almost everything’s been unpacked (with her sitting on the bed worrying about various things, for the most part).

 

“You’re sure,” she’s saying, as he’s following her to the door, “you’re sure that everything’s fine?”

 

“Yes, mum,” he says patiently.

 

“Only I want you to make sure you call me if anything happens,” she continues, for what has to be at least the fifth time today. “And you’re not gonna hear the end of it from me if I find there’s anything you’ve left behind at home…”

 

He kisses her cheek. “Don’t worry, I checked,” he says. “Bye. See you later.”

 

She nods, seemingly unconvinced, and straightens her bag on her shoulder. With one hand on her shoulder, Chan’s steering her towards the door and she’s halfway outside when she stops in her tracks. “And one last thing.”

 

“Yes?” he says, as nicely as he can; the last thing he wants is for her to think he finds her annoying. That would start a lecture at least another hour long.

 

“I want you to call and tell me if you meet anyone,” she says. This time, though, her tone is different — excited, almost? — and she turns to face him.

 

He stifles a smile. “Come on, mum. I’m sure I’ll be able to make friends — ”

 

“I’m not talking about friends,” she says, “I’m talking about girls.”

It’s a moment before Chan realises exactly what she’s saying. “Oh, no. _Mum_ — “

“Chris, I’m serious. This could be the only time in your life to — ”

“I didn’t come to uni to meet girls — “

 

“I know you didn’t come to uni to meet girls,” she says, and now it’s her turn to adopt a patient tone, as if she’s talking to a very young child. “But it’s the best time of your life to meet the person that you might settle down with for good. And besides, don’t you want a girlfriend?”

 

“No.”

 

She looks taken aback. “No?”

“No.”

“Why?”

 

“I’m… gay.” It takes a second for what he’s just said to hit him, because he’s not gay — not that there’s anything _wrong_ with that — and also because he’s not entirely sure why he even said it at all. Of all the excuses, he doesn’t know why that’s the one he’s picked, but it seems too late to back out now, so he presses on: “And I’m seeing someone.”

 

“Someone?” His mother looks like she’s going to faint.

“Yes. Someone. A male person,” he elaborates.

“Well, how do you — I’m — …” She breaks off, thinks, then: “Who is it?”

“Nobody you know.”

“Chris!”

“It’s —”

“Me,” someone says.

 

From the way his mother’s gaze shifts upwards, Chan can tell there’s someone behind him. He turns around to see Minho, standing behind the both of them in the doorway, wearing the same ever-present smile.

 

Chan’s mother pauses. “Excuse me?”

“We’re dating,” Minho says, pleasantly, in the span of time it takes Chan to process what Minho says. “Didn’t he tell you?”

 

She doesn’t respond, but from the look on her face, the answer to that question is _Of course he fucking didn’t_.

 

“That’s right,” Chan says hastily. “Since high school, actually. We just never got the chance to say it.” He’s not quite sure why he’s playing along with Minho, but he’s fairly sure he’s come way too far now to back out without having a lot of explaining to do. Besides, even if he _does_ back out now, his mum will just continue nagging him about finding a girlfriend  — at least this way he’s ending the conversation. Or so he’s telling himself.

 

Evidently, his mother is still dumbstruck. Her mouth is slightly agape, opening and closing over and over again as if she’s looking for something to say. Chan sees the opportunity and takes it, taking her by the shoulders once more and guiding her, somewhat forcefully, over the threshold. “I’ll see you later, okay, mum?”

 

“Chris, what on earth — ”

“Bye! Love you,” he says, somewhat desperately, as he shuts the door. Then, guiltily, and as an aside: “I’ll call you.” He hastily locks the door shut, and leans his back against it as he exhales, eyes shut. He takes one deep breath, then two, and then his eyes snap open.

 

“So,” he says, addressing Minho in what he hopes is a conversational tone of voice. “What the fuck was that?”

 

“Me coming to your rescue? I think you meant to say ‘thanks’.” Minho sounds completely unfazed; maybe he’s used to ruining poor guys’ relationships with their mothers. That actually wouldn’t be the least surprising thing Chan’s learned about Minho. When Minho goes back to scrolling on his phone, Chan realizes he has to speak up again.

 

“Yeah but... I’m not gay, dude.”

 

“You literally just told your mom you were gay.”

 

Shit, Minho’s got him there.

 

Chan’s still trying to process all this. Now his mom thinks he’s gay? And dating Lee Minho of all people? At least Chan’s mom hasn’t seen him like Chan has. Chan had been friends with Minho during his dubstep phase.

 

When Chan looks down again, Minho is still sitting on Chan’s newly made bed and giving him a look. The specific look Minho’s practiced for moments just like this, where Chan acts faster than he thinks and fucks something up. He’s gotten to use it a lot recently.

 

“Yeah but I just wanted to get her off my back, you know?” Chan’s playing with the hairs at the nape of his neck. He knows it’s his fault and Minho was just trying to help, but again, Chan was doing the whole speaking before thinking thing.

 

“I’m sure telling her you were gay was the best way to do that.” Minho does a good job of telling Chan he’s the dumbest motherfucker alive without actually saying it.

 

“I panicked! I’ll just clear this up later...” Chan sighs and flops down on the space next to Minho.

 

“At least it’ll make a good coming out story.”

 

“I’m not actually gay! I didn’t really come out.”

 

Minho’s face becomes more and more cat-like as Chan panics. Now Minho’s just playing with him. He _hmm_ s in a teasing sort of way and shrugs. “You can either play along with this for now until we see an opportunity to break up, _or_ — ”

 

Chan grimaces. “When you put it that way, it sounds like we’re actually dating.” He grabs his head in both hands, shuts his eyes tight and groans. “Look  — we’ll just cross that bridge when we get to it. Maybe she’ll forget about it.”

 

“You think?” Minho says, unconvinced. “I did you a favor.”

“I know. Thank you,” he puts in, quickly. “But I just — ”

 

Before Chan can think of how he’s going to continue that sentence, he feels his phone buzz in his pocket. He exchanges looks with Minho, who shrugs as if to say, _It’s your call._ He reaches down, reluctantly powers the screen on:

 

_You’re dating Minho?_

 

“Your mom?” Minho asks.

He shakes his head. “Woojin.”


	2. WOOJIN

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anyone would be worried they might be left out by their two best friends if they started dating. Of course. 
> 
> It’s totally normal.

Woojin wouldn’t exactly say he’s easily surprised. Not that he _isn’t_ easily surprised. He’d known, for example, that Chan and Minho would get along pretty well when he’d introduced them for the first time back in their first year of high school. Well, at the very least, he’d known that they weren’t going to _hate_ each other, even if things had been pretty awkward at first, which was to be expected. If anything, he’d like to think that he’s pretty good at picking up on cues.

 

Now, though? Now, he’s starting to think that he might just be the most oblivious person in the world.

 

He’s standing in the middle of his half-unpacked room, having just received a call from Chan’s mother telling him that Chan and Minho are dating.

 

 _Dating_ ? _There has to be some kind of misunderstanding_. That’s what he’s been repeating to himself over and over again, because no matter which way he looks at it, there’s been absolutely no hint of this at all. There’s the main point, which is that he’s known Chan for twelve years, and Chan isn’t gay; and secondly, he’d never gotten the impression that Minho and Chan were particularly close.

 

His phone beeps in response and he looks down.

 

_Um yeaah haha_

 

He furrows his brow.

 

_Since when??_

_Since like the second year of highschool_

_And you didn’t tell me?_

_It just never came up_.

 

Woojin stares at the screen for a couple of seconds as a _Sorry_ pops up. There’s something weird about all of this, but he isn’t exactly sure what it is. If he hadn’t heard about this through Chan’s mom, he’d be pretty sure the two of them were taking the piss out of him. _But who stages a fake coming-out to their own mother? There’s no way._

 

He grips his phone in his hand.

 

 _I think_ , he types, _we should meet up to talk about this_

 _Sure_ and then _Tomorrow morning ig_ pop up in quick succession.

 

He bites his lip, slides his phone back into his pocket, not sure quite how to feel about all of this. The initial shock and disbelief is beginning to wear away, now that Chan’s confirmed it himself, and underneath that is something like confusion.

 

Or is it?

 

It’s a kind of wrenching, searing feeling in the pit of his stomach, not unlike anxiety. Or maybe it’s something else — irritation? Frustration? Or sadness? — that he can’t quite put a name to. It’s definitely not pride or anything congratulatory, and at this realisation he feels almost ashamed of himself. Any normal person would be happy for their friends, wouldn’t they? And proud of themselves for managing to bring their two best friends together? He’s not sure why he feels so annoyed.

 

And then he realises what this feeling is. It’s jealousy. Of course it is.

 

He breathes a sigh of relief. Anyone would be worried they might be left out by their two best friends if they started dating. Of course.

 

_It’s totally normal._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one is so short. We wrote it all in one shot so we didn't really think about length...


	3. MINHO

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So when did you guys… click?”
> 
> “Uh… love at first sight?” Oh god.
> 
> “Really? Minho told me you were a loser after I first introduced you guys.”

“So what are you going to tell Woojin?” Chan asks, as they make their way up the stairs to the campus Starbucks.

 

Minho narrows his eyes, gives Chan his trademarked exasperated look. He’s pretty proud of himself. In the three years they’ve known each other, he’s worked it down to an art form, practically. “What are _you_ going to tell him?” he retorts. “It was _your_ lie. I just helped you out.”

 

“True, but we’re in this together,” Chan argues.

 

“No we’re not.”

“You asked me to play along —!”

“Maybe we should just tell him the truth— ”

“And have him tell my mum everything the minute she asks? You know what he’s like —”

 

Minho senses someone walking up to the two of them and barely manages to restrain himself from shoving Chan down the steps to his doom. He turns and sees Woojin standing a few feet away from them, looking fairly bemused. “Why are you arguing outside Starbucks?”

 

He opens his mouth and then immediately shuts it again, darting a look in Chan’s direction as if to say, You _think of something._ Chan looks blank for a moment, then as if he understands: “We’re not arguing. It was a friendly discussion. We were waiting for you to show up.” Minho quickly nods in agreement.

 

“Anyway,” Minho says hastily, “maybe we should just head inside first and grab a drink.”

“Mm,” Woojin says, eyeing them.

 

“Coffee, anyone?” Chan says, as the three of them seat themselves by the window. He has a one-for-one coupon in his hand, and at the exasperated looks he gets from both Minho and Woojin, he immediately puts it face-down onto the table. “No? Me neither.”

 

Woojin clears his throat and says, “I think all three of us know why we’re here today.” Minho instantly feels as though he’s been called in to have a talk with the principal, and the mood is dampened considerably. For once, Minho decides to keep his mouth shut.

 

“So, why did you guys hide your relationship from me? Did you think I wouldn’t support you guys?” Woojin makes eye contact between the two and Minho finds himself wanting to tell Woojin everything. If Minho’s mastered the exasperated look, Woojin’s mastered the i’m-not-mad-just-disappointed look.

 

Minho tears his eyes away to look in Chan’s direction. When Chan looks like he’s about to go against what he himself told Minho and spill everything to Woojin, Minho kicks his shin under the table.

 

“ _Ow_ -“ Well it worked. Chan turns back to Woojin and finally attempts to respond. “No, that’s not it, we just…”

 

“How come you guys have never acted like a couple?”

 

“Channie is just scared of PDA.” Minho had to chirp in at this point because if these last couple days have proved anything, it’s that Chan is completely useless.

 

Chan forces a little laugh at that and turns back to Woojin, visibly less tense. Totally useless. Chan could actually use someone like Minho by his side. Their relationship is just pretend though, so Chan will have to deal and hopefully not eventually die of anxiety.

 

“Yeah, look, I’m really sorry dude, this doesn’t change things right?” Chan looks genuinely afraid of hurting Woojin’s feelings for someone who didn’t actually do anything wrong. Besides being a panicked mess that blurts out whatever he’s thinking. Minho thinks the habit is pretty sad, considering Chan is actually pretty intelligent. He thinks.

 

“I’m not mad, just kind of confused. I don’t know how I never noticed it. To be honest, I still don’t really get it.”

“Haha, I guess we just clicked!”

Minho forces a pleasant smile even though he kind of wants to deck Chan in the face for his cheesiness. Dating a guy like Chan is hard.

 

“So when did you guys… click?”

“Uh… love at first sight?” _Oh god._

 _“_ Really? Minho told me you were a loser after I first introduced you guys.”

 

“You did?” Chan half-whispers to Minho, looking hurt. In Minho’s defense, Chan had somehow turned their conversation about their future college majors into a D&D discussion.

 

Minho ignores him until Chan turns back to Woojin to continue their fake backstory. “Well, it was a one-sided love at first sight. Minho didn’t love me back until like… the 20th sight.”

 

 _Time to make things sappy and gay before Woojin suspects anything._ Minho clings onto Chan’s arm and turns to Woojin after feeling around his fake boyfriend’s bicep a bit. Minho deserves a reward for all the hard work he’s been doing lately.

 

“Maybe it was a rough start, but I’m glad we’re together now. It’s all thanks to you for introducing us, Woojin.” Woojin’s eyes seem to soften a bit at Minho’s little performance.

 

“Well, I’m glad I could help? I really am happy if you guys are.” _Super sappy._ Minho’s relieved that Woojin is happy about it at least. He shouldn’t have expected anything less from Woojin, though. He’s always been supportive of Minho, even through his dubstep phase. If saying ‘at least it’s not country’ counts as being supportive.

 

“I have to admit, I was pretty shocked at first. I mean… my two best friends?” Minho’s a little bit touched. It’s kind of nice to be called a best friend. The moment is quickly gone, however. “Which reminds me. Chan, your mother wanted to meet all three of us to talk about it.”

 

Minho blinks at him. From a quick look in Chan’s direction, it’s evident they’re both equally flabbergasted. “Why?” Chan asks, clearly mystified. “When was this?”

 

“The other day,” Woojin clarifies, “when she called to ask if you two were really going out with each other. I guess she still has questions for the both of you.”

“And you said yes? Just like that?” Minho can’t help but sound offended.

“What was I supposed to say?” Woojin says, just a little bit defensively.

“‘No’,” Minho suggests pleasantly.

Chan shakes his head. “Woojin’s right. If he’d said no, she might not let us be friends anymore.”

“Are you guys twelve?” Minho asks in disbelief. “And why does Woojin have to be there? Not that I don’t want you to be there, but...”

Chan groans, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table. “My guess is that she needs Woojin there to corroborate what we’re saying.” Woojin nods. “Anyway, it’s not like we have a choice. I guess we’ll just have to meet her and see what she says.”

 

He’s about two seconds away from beating the everloving shit out of Chan. It’s easy for _him_ to talk when this is his headass lie in the first place. He almost feels bad for Woojin, who’s been playing along none the wiser, but he feels even worse for himself. How did he even get caught up in this in the first place? _That’ll be the last time I ever do something out of the goodness of my heart._

 


	4. CHAN

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chan nods to himself. That’s fair. “How do we act gay?”
> 
> Minho’s looking at him in disbelief. “What? Did you really just say that? You’ve just set gay rights back by at least thirty years.”

Chan catches up to Minho on their way out of the café. Woojin’s gone ahead, citing his need to visit the guidance office to collect his schedule, and now it’s just the two of them walking back down the brick steps leading away from the Starbucks.

 

“So what’s the plan?” he asks.

 

Minho shoots him a dismissive glare. “Why don’t _you_ come up with one?”

 

Chan nods to himself. That’s fair. “How do we act gay?”

 

Minho’s looking at him in disbelief. “What? Did you really just say that? You’ve just set gay rights back by at least thirty years.”

 

He quickly backpedals. “Never mind. I think we need to have a story so we don’t contradict each other,” he says. “Like, okay, where did we meet for the first time. And when exactly we started going out. Stuff like that.”

 

He’s looking at Minho for an answer, but Minho just sighs and pats him on the shoulder. “Why don’t _you_ decide what the story is, Chan?” Minho says, sweetly. “And then just tell me what you’ve decided and we can go from there.”

 

“I need you to help me decide if it makes any sense,” Chan protests.

 

Minho’s already at the bottom of the staircase. “So I’ll point out if there are any flaws in the story,” he says, and then, in a more pointed tone, “once you’ve decided what you want the story to be, that is.”

 

Annoyed, Chan starts listing off events as he picks up the pace, trying to keep up with Minho. “Okay, fine!” he says, as he hurries down the steps. “So we met in the first year of high school, when Woojin introduced us. We didn’t really get along until our second year, when all three of us were in the same class.” That much is true. He glances to his right. Minho is affecting a bored expression, but he can tell he’s listening. Chan tries not to smile.

Minho may be standoffish and sarcastic most of the time, but there’s something comforting about it; Chan knows that Minho only ribs the people he cares about. Maybe “predictable” isn’t the right word for it, but he always knows exactly what to expect from Minho. He has to admit that sometimes he says stupid shit just because he knows exactly what Minho is going to retort with. That’s the kind of inevitability that Chan likes coming back to.

 

“So we started going out after summer break in our second year,” Minho continues.

 

He looks at Minho in surprise. “We did?”

 

Minho whacks him on the shoulder, _hard_. “That’s what you told Woojin.” He sighs exaggeratedly. “What would you do without me?”

 

“Right, that’s right,” Chan acknowledges. To be honest, he’s so used to having Minho around that he really _doesn’t_ know what he would do without him. “So, like… okay, I told Woojin that we clicked, but we have almost no common interests…”

“Music,” Minho says. “We bonded over music.” It’s a generic answer, but it’s good enough.

“Okay. And who asked who out first?”

“You asked me out,” Minho says immediately. “I’d rather die than ask you out.”

 

Instead of retorting, Chan just grins and slings one arm around Minho’s shoulder, leaning against him. “Thanks for helping me,” he says, into Minho’s sleeve. He’s glad it’s Minho of all people that had ended up tangled in this ridiculous lie together with him, and he really is grateful.

  


“Disgusting,” Minho says, but doesn’t shrug him off.


	5. WOOJIN

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Woojin can feel himself falling into a slump. The kind of mood he never wants to be in. The kind of mood that talking to Chan or Minho could always fix. Now that both boys were the cause of his mood, he isn’t sure what he was supposed to do.

Chan and Minho are conferring discreetly behind their menus when Woojin arrives at the café. He can see them from the entrance, hunched over and talking in hushed tones about something or other. Chan looks serious and focused, and, as always, Minho looks slightly annoyed with him. He exhales. It’s still difficult to believe the two of them are dating, but they’ve both sworn that they are up and down and he knows they wouldn’t lie to him — and even if they  _ would _ lie to him, they probably wouldn’t lie to Chan’s mother.

 

_ Speaking of Chan’s mother, where is she?  _ Looking around, Woojin doesn’t see anyone who looks like her.  _ She must not have arrived yet _ . He’s been friends with Chan for thirteen years and knows her almost as well as he knows Chan. Feeling a little bit awkward about interrupting the two of them, he approaches Chan and Minho’s table with a smile and one hand raised in greeting. The two of them are sitting so close to one another, shoulders pressed together, that it feels a little bit strange.

 

They don’t see him immediately. “I told you, that sounds fucking stupid,” Minho is saying insistently to Chan, who looks pensive. “Nobody would believe that.”

“I think it’s pretty good.”

“And that’s why you’re not the one who gets final say— ”

 

Woojin clears his throat. “What sounds stupid?” He feels a sense of déjà vu.

 

Chan jumps up from the table and stands up straight. “You’re here!” he says, obvious relief in his voice. “I was beginning to think you weren’t going to come.”

He smiles again and pulls out a chair to seat himself. “Where’s your mother?”

“Mum said she was right nearby,” Chan says, grimacing. 

Minho cranes his neck, peering around Woojin. “Isn’t that her? With the black bag.”

 

He turns to see Chan’s mother approaching, a black bag slung over her shoulder. 

She gives the three of them an uncertain smile as she reaches the table. Before speaking she pulls over another chair from a nearby table to place her bag on and seats herself. Nobody says anything; the atmosphere is a little bit awkward for Woojin’s liking, so he decides to greet her first. “Auntie,” he says. “How are you? I was surprised you called me the other day.”

 

She smiles at Woojin before glaring pointedly at Chan. “Believe me, I was surprised too,” she says. “Well, out with it, Chris. How come you never said anything?”

Chan makes a face. “I mean, it never came up. And it’s not like it’s an easy topic to broach. It’s not like I could say ‘Bye mum, love you, and by the way, I’m gay’.”

Minho gives Chan an astonished look. “That’s exactly what you did the other week.”

“Under duress, though,” Chan mutters to Minho.

 

This is Woojin’s first time hearing the details of Chan’s coming out and to be honest, it seems really fitting for him. While Woojin’s always found Chan’s tendency to blurt things out to be on the endearing side, it’s making him worry. What if his mom hadn’t been accepting? 

 

“But anyways, it’s all out now so… ask anything you want about us.” Chan still looks a bit sheepish about the whole thing.

“Who asked who out?” The question comes immediately from Chan’s mom.

“I asked Minho out the summer break of our second year. Technically not the first time I asked, but the first time I got a yes!”

“You rejected him at first?” Without thinking, Woojin directs the question at Minho. He really hadn’t intended to make things harder for the couple in front of Chan’s mom, but he can’t help his curiosity. 

 

Minho looks surprised by the sudden question, but quickly recovers, leaning further into Chan’s side. Woojin doesn’t know how they managed to keep their hands off each other for years in front of him when they seem so close now. Deeper down, Woojin wonders why they wanted to keep it from him so badly but knows the topic isn’t something to bring up in front of Chan’s mother.

 

“Well, he asked way too early. Like, at the start of second year. I didn’t tell you about it because Chan looked so upset.” Woojin wouldn’t put such an act beneath Minho, but, lately, he’s learned that he really didn’t know as much about his two best friends as he thought did. So maybe Minho really did feel bad for Chan. Still, Woojin thinks about the time Minho laughed for 5 minutes straight after Chan tripped in the parking lot and starts to doubt the story.

 

Woojin stops himself from thinking too much into it. He should be happy for his friends, not looking for problems with their relationship. He looks at how Minho looks so comfortable, so pleased, tucked into Chan’s side like he’s always belonged there and Woojin just never noticed. The thought causes a pain in his chest; there’s nothing but the parking lot outside the window but he finds himself staring out it anyway.

 

If Minho notices Woojin’s acting weird, he doesn’t say anything, letting Chan’s mom continue her line of questioning.

 

“Why were you so interested in him?” Woojin only has to turn his head a bit to see Minho didn’t like that. Woojin knows the older woman means well, but Minho isn’t really familiar with how she speaks.

 

Chan rushes to answer the question. “We’re both passionate about music! Did you know Minho’s an amazing dancer?” 

“No, because you hid from me until 2 days ago.” Woojin can tell through her tone that she's still a bit skeptical. Woojin can definitely sympathize with her.

 

The tension’s getting kind of weird, so when the waiter comes to the table and takes their orders Woojin feels relieved. The sudden interruption also gets Minho to detach himself from Chan. Not that Woojin was relieved about that, but something about the change makes Woojin feel more relaxed. Maybe Woojin’s new role of third-wheel is getting to him.

 

“Well uh... the more you know!” Chan awkwardly laughs after the waiter leaves the table.

“So, if you two have been dating for two years... I suppose I don’t have to ask if there’s been a kiss yet?” Cue more awkward laughter from Chan. Minho smiles a bit at the question and the atmosphere is back to normal. Woojin is even starting to find them cute, if a bit weird.

 

But then Minho’s leaning forward and— oh. They were talking about kissing, but, Woojin somehow hadn’t expected to actually see it. It’s a small peck if anything but Woojin still feels that familiar lurch in his stomach at the display. Suddenly he doesn’t want to be here anymore, in this small booth, with his two best friends who are looking at nothing but each other. If he isn’t needed here, then...

 

“Thanks for taking me out Ms. Bang, but I just remembered I have something at home to take care of. Enjoy your meals.” He hopes he doesn’t come off too rude; it’s not her fault Woojin is feeling like this. It’s also not Minho or Chan’s fault, part of Woojin’s brain rationalizes, but the pain in his chest doesn’t care whose fault it is, it just wants him to leave. So he does, heading towards the door of the café. 

 

After he’s taken a few steps outside the door, his phone buzzes, screen lighting up.

 

_ Dude we were gonna hang out at my place after. _

_ You can come later if you want? _

 

The message is from Chan and for once he wishes it wasn’t. Woojin can feel himself falling into a slump. The kind of mood he never wants to be in. The kind of mood that talking to Chan or Minho could always fix. Now that both boys were the cause of his mood, he isn’t sure what he was supposed to do.

 

Woojin quickly turns his phone off, shoving it in his jacket pocket. He figures they’d probably want alone time anyway, but Woojin knows he ignores the invitation for his own sake.


	6. MINHO

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Well, maybe you should try calling Woojin.”  
> Chan bites his lip. “I would, but if he’s not answering me on text, maybe we should let him soak for a while.”  
> “Soak? Is he laundry?”

“I think he’s seen through us,” Chan declares.

 

Minho’s spacing out, so Chan speaking startles him. It’s been about ten minutes since Chan’s mother left. After Woojin’s sudden departure, their lunch together had been fairly uneventful and conversation had been limited. He’s been busy thinking about Woojin’s obvious discomfort and now he sees that his plate is still half-full, the food in it long since grown cold.

 

The way Chan suddenly speaks up, it’s pretty obvious that he’s been dying to say this all through lunch, so Minho decides not to be an ass and humor him for once. “Woojin, you mean?” he clarifies.

 

“Yeah.” Chan looks firmly convinced. “I knew this was dumb from the beginning.”

He refrains from asking why Chan went through with it in the first place if he thought the plan was so dumb. “Yeah?”

“I mean, when you think about it, it _is_ really suspicious that you’d reject me and not say anything.”

“I don’t think it’s that unbelievable. Why would anyone bring that up in conversation? That’s, like, the one way to make things awkward between friends,” Minho points out.

 

If Minho’s completely honest — which he rarely is — he’s pretty sure Woojin didn’t leave because he’d seen through their plan. He remembers the look on Woojin’s face when he’d leant forward to give Chan a kiss: it hadn’t exactly been jealousy, but he’d looked extremely uncomfortable. Minho sends a mental apology to Woojin; it’s not like it had been fun for Minho to do it either, but on the other hand, he does feel bad for making him sit through that display. Even though Chan and Minho had spent at least an hour before lunch deliberating whether or not they were actually going to go through with the kiss, it hadn’t made it any easier to actually do it.  He may not feel anything in particular for Chan, but he has to admit it’s awkward as _fuck_ to kiss one of your friends.

 

 _And it’s probably even worse to watch. Especially if_ —

 

He sneaks a glance at Chan, who’s fiddling with his phone; after Woojin had left Chan had texted him to ask whether he was still coming over to watch movies, but he hadn’t gotten a reply.

 

— _especially if you like one of them_.

 

Now that Minho’s actually said those words in his head, explicitly, they seem much more real, almost tangible, and they stand out awkwardly in his mind. But now that he’s said them, they make perfect sense. Of course. _Woojin likes Chan_. Why else would he have hated seeing the kiss that much? Any normal person would just have groaned or made a face. There hadn’t been any reason for Woojin to leave so suddenly.

 

Chan puts away his phone. “He’s leaving me on ‘read’,” he says unhappily.

“Is that so?” Minho’s sure Chan hasn’t figured out Woojin likes him yet. Normally at this stage he would call Chan stupid and spell it out for him, but he suddenly doesn’t want to, not least because he doesn’t want to actually make things even more awkward between Woojin and Chan. He’s also pretty sure that most people who have been friends with someone for thirteen years don’t think of their friend romantically at all, so it’s not surprising that Chan just isn’t considering the possibility that Woojin is jealous. “Well, maybe you should try calling him.”

 

Chan bites his lip. “I would, but if he’s not answering me on text, maybe we should let him soak for a while.”

“Soak? Is he laundry?”

Chan ignores Minho’s witty remark and makes as if to take his phone from his pocket once more, then looks as if he’s thinking better of it. “I told him that if he changes his mind he can still come over.” Although Chan speaks in a final kind of way, he still looks pretty worried.

“Are you worried he’ll tell your mom?”

“Maybe a little,” Chan concedes. “But the main thing is that we’ve been friends our whole lives. I don’t want to mess all that up.”

 

He softens hearing that. He’d have to beat some sense into Chan if the only thing he’d been worrying about was self-preservation, but he’s glad Chan’s mostly thinking about Woojin’s feelings. Minho isn’t going to deny that he’d ragged endlessly on Chan when they’d first been introduced, but the reason he hadn’t completely ignored him after that had been because of things like this.

 

“Don’t worry,” he says, trying to be nice for once. “I don’t think you messed it up.”

“You sure?”

Minho sees an opportunity to cover for Woojin and grabs it. “I think Woojin’s jealous. He’s gotta be feeling like a third wheel, right? Anyone would be pretty upset with themselves for not noticing that their two best friends were a couple for most of the time they’ve been friends.” It’s a half-truth but he thinks it’s a pretty good lie either way.

And it seems like it works, because Chan visibly brightens, sitting up straight and looking hopefully at Minho. “So we just need to make an effort to hang out together more, all three of us.”

 _Wait._ “No, but we’re still a couple.”

“I know, but nothing needs to change just because we’re dating,” Chan argues.

“And I’m saying that if we invite him to hang out with us while we’re on dates then we’ll be the ones making shit weird.” Minho stares at him. “We’ll be all over each other and he’ll be the third wheel for sure.”

 

He doesn’t think he’s said anything particularly strange, but Chan is staring back at him as if he’s grown a second head. “No, we won’t,” he says, disbelievingly. “Minho, we’re... not actually dating.”

He scrambles to regain his footing, lowering his voice just a little as a server comes by and removes his plate. “I — I know that,” he says, with as much derision as he can muster. “I’m just saying, because once Woojin is there, we’ll have to act like we’re dating even on our downtime.” He thinks he sounds pretty convincing, and he’s mentally hitting himself. Why had he actually spoken like their relationship was real for a moment there?

 

Chan’s already gathering his things. “You’re right, but still. I’m going to invite him anyway. If he sees through us for real then we’ll just tell him the truth. He deserves to know it,” he says, warningly, at the look Minho gives him.

The main lunch rush is beginning already, so Minho rises from his seat and follows Chan to the register mutely. Is it that he doesn’t want Woojin to come along? No, that’s definitely not it; he’d definitely felt his heart drop in his chest when he’d considered the possibility of Woojin being mad at the two of them. So why had he protested in the first place?

 

 _Because I don’t want Woojin to feel left out_.

  


It’s slowly beginning to dawn on Minho what exactly it is he wants to do and how to do it. If he’s going to preserve Woojin’s feelings while staying friends with both of them, then Woojin and Chan need to start dating. Which means Minho needs to stay out of the picture as much as possible, while making it look natural; something he’s confident he can do.

 

“Minho!” Chan’s voice breaks through Minho’s thoughts. “Turns out my mum’s already paid.”

“Oh, nice,” Minho says.

 

He already knows what he’s going to do.


	7. WOOJIN

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Come the fuck on. You got sick, coincidentally right after I kissed Chan?” Minho’s giving him the look that’s normally reserved for Chan and Woojin feels like a complete moron. Of course Minho would notice. Now he’s going to be friendless and loveless.

Woojin is fiddling with his phone when he hears a knock on the door. He’s been opening and closing his messages with Chan, considering the offer. He truly does want to go, just like old times, but he knows it’ll be different from now on. He begrudgingly gets up from the couch, dragging his body to the front door.

 

Seeing Minho would usually cheer him up, but now he just feels sick to his stomach again.

 

“Woojin, can we talk… please?” Woojin pushes his own feelings down after seeing the expression of Minho’s face. Something is really bothering him and, even with all that’s happened lately, Minho is a close friend he cares about deeply. Besides, when Minho says please, Woojin knows it’s serious.

 

Woojin moves aside, silently letting Minho in. They used to hang out a lot and play on Woojin’s shitty PS3 but lately Woojin hasn’t seen Minho without Chan at his side. Until now at least. Woojin feels his heart soften at the sight of Minho plopping down on his couch. It gives him a sense of familiarity; something he hasn’t felt since the whole dating fiasco.

 

Woojin finds himself at the end of Minho’s intense gaze as soon as he sits down next to him. Not intense as in mad but more of a determined feeling. Woojin steeled himself for what Minho had to say.

 

Minho glances at Woojin’s phone that he had left on the coffee table in front of them before speaking. “Are you not coming to Chan’s tonight?”

 

Maybe Woojin should’ve seen the question coming. After how weird he had acted at dinner, he should’ve expected a mini intervention. 

 

“I’m sorry, I just haven’t been feeling well since brunch.” It’s technically true; he had felt sick since brunch, but he knew why. He would be the worst friend if he said something about it out loud though. 

“Come the fuck on. You got sick, coincidentally right after I kissed Chan?” Minho’s giving him the look that’s normally reserved for Chan and Woojin feels like a complete moron. Of course Minho would notice. Now he’s going to be friendless  _ and  _ loveless.

“I know, I should’ve said something ear-“

“I know you love Chan.”

... _ What? _

“What?” Woojin can’t think of anything else to say; really, he thought Minho had everything figured out.

“It’s okay… look, I need to tell you something about me and Chan.” Minho looks more nervous than he’s ever seen the usually-confident Minho.

 

Woojin wants to confess, wants to tell Minho the truth about his feelings, but he’s curious about what Minho has to say and knows that Minho will kick his shins if he doesn’t let him finish. He looks so tense.

 

So Woojin just slowly nods, focusing all his attention on Minho.

 

“It’s fake. We made everything up, we’ve never ever dated, he never asked me out or… anything.” Minho had been leading up to this for the past ten minutes but it still feels like the news comes all too suddenly. The very thing that’s been wrenching at his heart for the past two days… didn’t actually mean anything? What was the point of it all? A big prank? 

 

“Why’d you guys do it? Why do all of that for a lie?” Woojin can feel his voice breaking. It's not just a feeling of betrayal; deep down, he’s also relieved it wasn’t real. 

 

“Chan panicked and told his mom he was dating someone… I just helped him out by backing him up and it kinda… turned into all this.” Minho looks a little ashamed now; maybe he’s only just now realizing how ridiculous this all sounds when he’s saying it out loud.

 

“Why did you have to keep up the lie in front of me too?” It’s the question Woojin’s been holding back. He needs to know why they felt they couldn’t trust him though.

 

“We just wanted it to go over well with his mom… we know you’re close with her and we didn’t want to take any chances. I’m sorry you felt left out but hey… now you have a chance with Chan, right?” Minho is smiling but it looks off. Minho doesn’t give genuine smiles too often, and this isn’t one of those times.

 

“You guys don’t have any feelings for each other after the kiss and everything?” Maybe he’s sabotaging himself by asking the question but he can’t help but dig a little deeper to get the total truth from Minho. It feels like there’s still a missing piece from their weird, love-triangle, puzzle.

 

“I would  _ never _ love a guy like Chan. A guy that always cracks lame jokes… a guy that’s always pestering you and asking about your day and if you ate and-” Minho quickly shuts his mouth and looks like he’s having a mini crisis and Woojin can relate. Minho covers it up quickly, but Woojin feels like he knows everything now. Minho loved Chan, Woojin loved Chan, Woojin loved Minho, and Chan probably loved Minho. Or girls. Still a possibility.

 

“Anyways… I think you should come over tonight. I’ll even be generous enough to take you.” When Minho says ‘anyways’, Woojin knows the subject is final and that’s it. So instead of pushing the topic further, Woojin simply nodded. 

 

“Well then… let’s go lover boy.”  _ Same to you,  _ Woojin thinks.

 


	8. CHAN

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chan says nothing for a moment. Then he stands up and yells at the top of his voice for a good five seconds, shutting up when he hears the student next door start thumping furiously on their shared wall. Understandably, Woojin looks fucking afraid.

Chan leaps up from his seat on the bed when he hears someone knock at the door. He’s spent all evening preparing for movie night. His laptop is ready, with the first six episodes of the Emperor Pilaf saga open in different tabs so they won’t have to wait for them to buffer later (a genius move on his part: he’s proud of himself for having thought of it). Minho doesn’t eat after seven, but he’s still ordered a bunch of chicken for tonight. He hopes Minho will make an exception, just for today.

 

Chan’s pretty excited for tonight. It’s been a while since the three of them have hung out together, and when he’d been choosing what they’d watch tonight he remembered that he and Woojin had been plotting to sit Minho down and force him to watch anime with them, something he’s said multiple times he’d rather die than do.

 

“What took you so long?” Minho says rudely, as soon as Chan opens the door. He’s surprised to see Woojin standing just behind him, smiling awkwardly. “Hey,” Woojin says.

 

“I didn’t think you’d come,” Chan says, a smile breaking onto his face in relief. “I’m glad. How did Minho change your mind?”

 

Woojin looks as though he’s about to say something, but Minho interrupts. “I’m persuasive.” Chan can believe that, and he stands to the side, holding the door open to allow the two of them inside. Minho makes a beeline for the boxes of chicken.

 

“What happened to not eating after seven?”

“Shut up.”

 

Woojin hasn’t moved from just beyond the doorway, and Chan’s beginning to feel awkward with the two of them just standing there, so he gestures towards the bed. “Have a seat,” he says. Woojin nods like it’s the first time the two of them have ever spoken and moves to take a seat. Chan can’t help feeling melancholy. This is the first time in years Woojin’s ever been awkward with him, and he doesn’t like the feeling at all. Maybe he really did piss Woojin off.

 

Minho stands. He’s wrapped a bunch of chicken in napkins and is making his way towards the door. “My job here is done,” he says.

 

Woojin looks as bewildered as Chan feels. “Wait, but we just got here,” he points out. “What happened to movie night?”

 

Minho gestures with the mass of chicken towards the laptop. “I’m _not_ watching that,” he says. “See you.”

“We don’t have to watch Dragonball,” Chan says hastily, hurriedly closing the anime tabs. Woojin looks disappointed for a moment. “We can watch whatever you want. I have Netflix.”

 

He’s already backing out the door. “No thank you. I have stuff to do anyway, so I gotta get home.”

“What stuff?” Chan grabs the doorframe and leans just outside of it, peering after Minho’s retreating figure in disbelief. “What do you mean, “get home”? You’re my roommate!” It’s no use. Minho disappears down the staircase at the end of the hallway. He’d yell after him some more, but he doesn’t want to get security called on him, and besides, Minho’s not exactly easy to win over.

 

Shaking his head, he looks at Woojin as he shuts the door to their room. “Did we do something?”

Chan doesn’t miss Woojin’s expression, like he’s trying to come up with something quick. “Maybe he really doesn’t like Dragonball,” Woojin offers.

 

He sighs. To be absolutely fair to Minho, he’s not really in the mood to watch Dragonball now either, which is saying a lot, but for the sake of movie night he grabs his laptop and mournfully starts looking around for “restore closed tabs”. “I guess so. Kinda sucks without him, though.”

 

Woojin bites his lip. “Can’t we watch it without him?”

“I mean, we can, but you know, when you’re dating someone…” Chan fumbles for a reply. In response, Woojin heaves a sigh and rolls his eyes.

 

“Chan.”

“It’s hard to spend even a moment without the love of your life…”

“Chan, Minho told me.” Woojin looks almost sympathetic. “You aren’t really dating, are you?”

 

 _Makafushigi Adventure_! starts blaring out of Chan’s laptop speakers and he slams the top of the laptop down. “He told you _what_?”

 

“You were pretty convincing, but I can’t believe the two of you only lasted a couple of days.”

Chan looks accusingly at him, but says nothing. Woojin has a point, but the ordeal the two of them have been through felt like it had lasted at least a month. This has got to be the world’s saddest record for any fake relationship. Maybe he should write in to Guinness. “I’m heartbroken, Woojin,” he pronounces coldly.

 

“Over a sham?”

“Don’t call it a sham.” For some reason Chan feels pretty miffed — okay, a _lot_ miffed — knowing that Minho had just given the whole game up in less than two weeks. I mean, it hadn’t been Minho’s responsibility to keep his secret for him, considering that he’d been the one who had gotten him into this mess in the first place, but he’d been under the impression that the two of them had an agreement. And, fine, it had lasted only a few days, if that, but he really feels that he’s grown closer to Minho over the course of their little act. “Why did he tell you? What did you ask him?” He’s aware he sounds vaguely petulant, but he can’t help himself.

 

Woojin shakes his head. “You’ve got the wrong idea. He told me all on his own.”

He’s even more confused now. “Why? I never got the impression he was bad at keeping a secret—”

 

It looks as though it’s taking Woojin a great deal of effort to speak. “Because he wanted me to come tonight,” he says, as if each word is taking a physical toll on him. “He thought I wasn’t coming because I wanted to leave the two of you alone together. Which is true, I guess.”

“Then why did he leave right after— ”

“He knows…” Woojin stops, then sighs. “Chan, I don’t know how to tell you this.” Chan instantly hears Minho’s voice in the back of his head, saying snarkily, _With your mouth_? He really, really wishes Minho were here right now; his presence is comforting. But Woojin’s next words shock him enough to make him forget Minho, if only for a second. “I’ve liked you since high school. Minho knows. I’m sure he left because he thought he’d get in my way.”

 

Chan says nothing for a moment. Then he stands up and yells at the top of his voice for a good five seconds, shutting up when he hears the student next door start thumping furiously on their shared wall. Understandably, Woojin looks fucking afraid, and has dropped the wing he was holding. “Why do the two of you always decide to do shit to be nice to each other without actually telling each other?” Chan demands. “And without telling me, either?”

 

“You don’t tell other people about your good deeds,” Woojin mutters, retrieving his dropped wing from the floor with a grimace.

Chan’s ready to yell again, but he doesn’t want to get evicted, so he refrains. “Good deeds my ass. When will you stop _assuming_ things—” He breaks off, points an accusatory finger at Woojin. “Did nobody ever think to ask _me_ who _I_ wanted to be with?”

Woojin raises his voice slightly, which is fair, because Chan’s being pointlessly dramatic. It’s actually kind of fun. “Who do you want to be with, then?”

“Both of you!”

 

Chan says it on impulse but the minute it leaves his mouth he knows it’s true. He’s probably liked both of them since forever, but hadn’t realised it until now. Imagining a world in which he can only hang out with the both of them separately forever and not together feels like hell to him. He’d always assumed it was because he’d grown too used to being friends with them, but now he realises it isn’t that. The thought of going back to being just friends with Minho scares him, and he hates it. At the same time, the idea of being in a relationship with Minho and Woojin not being involved is unbearable, too, and he knows it’s not just friendship he wants. Now that he’s realised it, it seems so obvious, so stupid, that he wants to hit himself. He just wishes it hadn’t taken a goddamn failed Dragonball marathon for him to get it.

 

“It’s selfish, I get it,” Chan says, flushed. “I guess this time I’m the one who isn’t thinking to ask how either of you feel about this. But it’s the truth.” Woojin raises his eyes slowly to look at Chan. “I can’t imagine living without either one of you. I don’t want to be with just one of you. It’s selfish and it’s stupid, and I know you don’t understand, but—”

 

“I understand.” Woojin looks as though he might cry in relief. “Chan, it’s not just you I’ve liked since high school. It’s you and Minho. It’s always been the two of you.” This evening is just revelation after revelation, apparently. Chan feels as though he’s in some kind of primetime drama, except it’s actually happening. “Maybe _I_ was selfish. I thought that if I never told either one of you how I felt, I could keep the two of you by my side forever without ever actually being honest with how I feel.”

 

Chan says nothing, and Woojin waves a hand at him. “Chan?”

“We are so stupid,” Chan says. “You and me and Minho. We’re all dumb as shit.”

“Agree,” Woojin says sadly. It’s true.

 

Chan pushes his laptop screen back up again, noting that about twenty minutes have passed. It feels like it’s been forever. “It’s eight forty-seven,” Chan says. “Do you think Minho’s coming back tonight?”

“Who knows?” Which is also true. Even without any drama, Minho’s been known to disappear by himself for hours on end with little to no prior notice. He always turns up unscathed, but Chan’s still worried, and judging by Woojin’s expression, so is he. “At least we know he has sustenance. He took half the chicken.”

“I’ll call him. We can explain everything,” Chan says. Woojin nods.

 


	9. MINHO

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Minho fiddles with a cold piece of chicken he thinks about how the two are doing. Probably snuggling together watching that “dragonbrawl” thing. Chan and Woojin have tried on multiple occasions to tell him the plot, but he can’t remember anything.

_ Missed Call from Bang Chan. _

 

It’s the same notification Minho’s gotten 15 times in the past hour. 

 

_ “Good news! Woojin and I are dating now!”  _ Minho can just hear Chan telling him this excitedly, can see his giddy smile. Minho may have helped to get them together, but he was just being a good friend. It’s not like he wanted to hear about it. If having to never hear Chan say those words meant moving to America and changing his name then so be it. Minho wasn’t that desperate yet, but he did have a plan worked out. Just in case.

 

At first Minho wasn’t so sure why he felt so strongly about the possibility of them dating. It would make Chan and his mom happy if he was in a real relationship. It would work perfectly, so why did Minho want to get in the way so badly? 

 

Though it wasn’t very accurate to say Minho was unsure of why he felt this way; he knew. Maybe he just wouldn’t admit it yet. To be honest, he was still hesitant to come to terms with it. The fact that… maybe he enjoyed pretend dating Chan a bit too much. That maybe he didn’t really have to kiss Chan just to prove their relationship. 

 

Being able to admit that he felt something for Woojin as well was easier. He’s a great guy with an amazing voice and soft eyes; Minho probably fell for him before he had even been introduced to Chan, just not realizing it. But  _ Chan _ ; Chan was supposed to be  nothing more than a lame weeaboo that just happened to be rather attractive. If Minho had just had feelings for Woojin this all would’ve been fine.

 

Well, it would’ve been if Woojin hadn’t been in love with Chan. He feels as stupid as Chan for not realizing it and getting involved in the first place. He should’ve never stood up for Chan back then and gotten into this shitfest. Normally he wouldn’t get involved; he preferred to watch drama from the sidelines. Actually playing a part in all this fucking sucked. As selfish as it sounds, he just wants them all to be together again, without any romance involved. Sure, he liked both of them, but Minho could deal with some unrequited crushes. Maybe. He thought he could, but here he is, sitting on a bench in the park they all used to hang out in together in high school, with a heavy weight in his chest.

 

As he fiddles with a cold piece of chicken he thinks about how the two are doing. Probably snuggling together watching that “dragonbrawl” thing. Chan and Woojin have tried on multiple occasions to tell him the plot, but he can’t remember anything. Really, Chan and Woojin always had so much in common. The only way Minho could relate to them was through music. And neither of them were very fond of dancing themselves. The distance between them and Minho just seemed to grow larger and larger. Minho knew ditching them and sitting in a park wasn’t exactly shortening that distance but that’s probably how they wanted it.

 

The thought fills him with bitterness again. He realizes he’d do anything to get to hang out with them right now; even if it meant marathoning dragonbrawl. But the thought of them cuddling on the couch next to each other, faces squished together, because that’s how sweet and cuddly they are, stops him from getting up. 

 

Minho is cold and feeling even pissier because of it but he didn’t want to give up. He knows he’s just being stubborn but he can’t help it. They mean the world to Minho even if he doesn’t always act like it, and he doesn’t know how to deal with the possibility of them growing up and living the rest of their lives together. Without their old friend. 

 

When his phone buzzes again he doesn’t know what the sound is making him feel anymore. A part of him wants them to find him, wants them to say everything’s back to normal. It’s getting late though and he knows they wouldn’t go searching. Minho’s always been known to ignore phone calls and messages anyways.  

 

Minho  _ definitely  _ doesn’t know what he feels when a bright light shines in front of him, illuminating two relieved expressions.


	10. CHAN

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chan doesn’t know what the future will look like, but he knows the three of them will be there, facing it together. And maybe that’s all they’ll really need to know.

Woojin and Chan have been jogging haphazardly around the area surrounding their dorm for the past forty-five minutes, yelling Minho’s name as loud as they dare, and so far they haven’t had any luck. Chan’s would almost think Minho’s just gone and died somewhere, but he’s always been known to up and disappear by himself without explanation only to return, hours later, with a funny story to tell about where he’s been and what he’s done. Normally looking for Minho doesn’t do any good; he likes to live life on his own terms. Like a cat, sort of.

 

But this time Chan’s worried. Seriously worried. He knows Minho won’t do anything stupid, but he also doesn’t like the idea of leaving him out here, alone with his feelings for hours, without at the very least checking on him.

 

“Any luck?” he says to Woojin, when the two of them reconvene under a streetlight.

Woojin shakes his head. “It’s pitch black. I don’t see him anywhere. Maybe we should stick together and look for him.”

 

It’s a solid idea. On his own, Chan’s mostly been frantically running in circles and hoarsely calling for Minho, so it would probably make more sense if they looked together. The two of them set off again and are making their way past the dorm building for the second time when Woojin starts suddenly. “The park,” he says.

 

“What park?”

“There’s a park behind the convenience store,” Woojin says. “The three of us used to hang out there in high school. Remember?”

 

It’s as good a place to check as any. Chan still remembers when the three of them would sprawl out across the park benches after school on days when none of them needed to attend extra classes, talking about anything and nothing. It seems like it was just yesterday that they’d made a promise to each other they’d get into this university and experience college life together, and if he doesn’t find Minho now and make good with him, he’s pretty sure that’s not gonna happen. His heart falls a little at the thought.

 

They cut across a grassy area that divides the street from the park. It’s a large park with few lights, and the starless sky makes it difficult to make out more than vague shapes. Everything appears to Chan in muddy shades of blue and grey. He reaches into his pocket for his phone.

 

“What are you doing?”

“Torchlight,” Chan mutters. A few taps and the ground in front of them is flooded with a blinding white light.

 

Holding his phone out ahead of them, Chan and Woojin begin to look around in the park. They’re only a few metres away from where they’d begun when Woojin stops. “Minho!”

 

And sure enough, there he is, sitting on a bench a short ways away from them, clutching a chicken-grease-stained bundle of napkins in his hands. When Chan shines his light in Minho’s face he immediately winces, reaching up to shield his eyes from the light. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you,” he says, and he can hear the relief in his own voice.

 

“It took you long enough to find me,” Minho says, but he doesn’t sound particularly annoyed. Instead he sounds… reluctantly pleased, almost. Chan takes that as a good sign.

 

“We know you’re mad at us,” Woojin begins, but before he can continue Minho stands up, waving his hands in front of him in denial.

“Me? No. I’m not mad at you. Everything’s peachy.”

“ _Peachy_?” Chan repeats.

“I really did just need my space for an hour or so. I’m good now,” Minho insists. “And I wanted to give the two of you time to…” He trails off, looking pointedly at Woojin. “Well? Did you?”

 

Woojin sighs. “Yeah—”

“Oh, congrats,” Minho says, in a businesslike tone. “You guys can tell me all about it in the morning. I’m—”

 

Chan interrupts this time, standing in Minho’s path to block his way. “Minho, I know what you were trying to do.”

“You can thank me tomorrow morning.” His tone is dismissive and she tries to shoulder past Chan again.

“Minho, look at me,” Chan says firmly, in a tone of voice that actually makes Minho turn to face him with surprise. “Woojin and I know how you feel.”

 

Minho looks stunned for a second, but, as always, smoothly recovers, raising an eyebrow. “Tired? Sleepy?” he offers, sardonic. Chan can see, though, that Minho’s shoulders have stiffened as though in anticipation of what the two of them might say next.

 

Woojin rubs his temples, sighs, then speaks. “You like Chan, don’t you?”

“What? Me? That ass? I—”

“Both of us,” Chan says. “You like both of us.”

 

Chan intends those last words to come out as a question, but they end up sounding more like a statement. The matter-of-factness of his tone surprises even himself.

It seems for a moment as though Minho is going to deny it again; wave his hands that dismissive way and say something derisive again, but Chan and Woojin are looking at Minho head-on now, maintaining eye contact with him for long enough that Minho suddenly seems to crumple. “So what?” he says, after a moment of staring defiantly at them. “It doesn’t matter how I feel. Now that the two of you are—”

 

“Do you really think that?” Chan speaks more forcefully than he’d wanted to, but maybe that’s a good thing. “That it doesn’t matter how you feel?”

Minho looks shaken but keeps talking. “It doesn’t. If the two of you are — a _thing_ now — then I don’t plan on getting in your way. You don’t have to be considerate of me.” Minho appears to wince at his usage of such a childish euphemism. _A thing_ , he’d called it. “I’ve always hated that — how _nice_ the two of you insist on being—”

 

He’s suddenly sick of the way Minho has been talking all evening.

 

“There it is again.” He’s sad, worried, but more than all of that, Chan is frustrated. “‘The two of you’. You keep saying that.”

Minho says nothing for a moment. Then: “That’s because there are two of you.” He sounds fairly nonplussed.

“I hate it,” Chan says simply. “There is no ‘the two of you’, or ‘the two of us’. Minho.” Minho slowly lifts his gaze from the spot on the ground he’s been staring fixedly at for the past couple of minutes. Chan exhales. “There is no ‘us’ if it isn’t the three of us, Minho. It’s the three of us or nothing. It’s always been that way. And it will always be that way. Even — especially if we’re dating.”

 

He says it without a second thought and in a heated, fervent moment, but he instantly knows it’s true; from the look on Woojin’s face, he agrees.

Woojin steps forward, places one steady, reassuring hand on Minho’s shoulder. His voice is soft when he speaks. “It has to be the three of us,” he repeats, not looking away from Minho’s face. It takes a couple moments, but Minho’s expression begins to soften and slowly, _slowly_ , his body appears to relax.

 

After a few seconds, he speaks. “You’re incorrigible,” he says, almost angrily, though Chan can tell he’s not serious. “You haven’t thought about how we’re going to make this work — how we’re going to explain all of this — have you considered the logistics?”

“What logistics?” Woojin’s bemused. “Minho, we’re _going_ to make it work. We just have to.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s what the three of us want,” Woojin says, as though stating a fact. “Isn’t it?”

 

Somewhere along the line, while Woojin had been talking, Minho must have stiffened up again, because now Chan can see him relax once more, shoulders dropping, brow almost completely unfurrowed — but not quite, of course. He wouldn’t be Minho if he let his guard down that easily, after all.

 

Out of nowhere Minho thumps him on the chest. “What are you smiling for?” he demands.

Chan reaches up to cover his mouth. _Oh_. He hadn’t realised he’d been smiling. He knows it’s barely been a few days since this whole — well, farce, to be honest — has begun, but it’s felt like much longer. Before college the three of them had hung out nearly every single day, playing off each other so well and so easily; he realises now how difficult it had been this past week, with either Minho or Woojin feeling left out at turns, and all three of them constantly making excuses so they wouldn’t have to be in the same room together. Maybe it’s precisely this feeling of awkwardness and alienation, so strange and so foreign, that’s made the last few days seem as though they’ve lasted weeks — months, even.

 

It’s not as though everything’s gone completely back to normal yet. There’s still some kind of awkwardness in the air, and just minutes ago Minho had been trying, slippery and catlike as ever, to escape them. But Chan realises now why he’s been smiling. It’s been only a few days since the three of them have moved into their rooms at the dorms, and it’s a week or so before the semester starts for real. And beyond that four years of uni together, the three of them, the way it’s always been, and the way, he realises, that it will be for as far ahead as he can imagine. The infinite nature of their time together fills him with an exuberant kind of hope; a giddy, simple excitement.

 

He doesn’t know what the future will look like, but he knows the three of them will be there, facing it together. And maybe that’s all they’ll really need to know.

**Author's Note:**

> The title is from the Korean title of "Awkward Silence", but you'll note this fic has nothing to do with the song. We were mostly calling out Woojin and Minho for feeling the need to be emotional every three minutes.
> 
> We're on Twitter at @jeonginline (me) and @jisungracha!


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